i spent a lot of money on this trip to Japan. but it was all worth it.
first of all, this trip was first and foremost a break from all the construction and work i was dealing with back home. getting such a good deal on the warehouse was amazing, but it definitely cost a shit ton of man-hours, more than i’d like to admit. it was a mess. it was a run-down warehouse from the 70s that laid abandoned for years at this point, as it was really far from the rest of civilization in the middle of the Arizona desert. even though i’m accustomed to the heat, the barely functioning A/C in the beginning made it impossible to get any work done in the summer. thankfully, by the time Taz got it sorted out with the HVAC company, monsoons were rolling in, making the air just a bit colder as a reprieve from the 115f weather (last year had NO fucking rain, so us getting it so early this year was a welcome surprise.)
secondly, we had to clean it all out. it was filled with cobwebs, dust, dead bug carcasses, leftovers from homeless squatting, etc. it was an absolute CHORE. thankfully, after that was done the inside was at least livable. but next came the room construction. since the warehouse was very spacious on the inside, a lot of rooms had to be built to house not only the staff but to house all of our equipment, both future and current. it took a whole month to get this done. plus, the electrical work and plumbing was a nightmare to deal with.
lastly, finally moving in. this took the latter half of july to finish, as we had to not only bring all of our old equipment in but also go shopping for a lot of new stuff. before the warehouse, Bad Wolf was run out of my shitty Phoenix apartment, so we had to get a LOT of furniture. with the help of Taz’s strength plus the number of drones we had (i think 6 at this point?) it wasn’t much of a hassle getting things inside, aside from the aforementioned heat. i swear our water bill got jacked up to the max that month…
but finally, it was done. early august, full operation started and we could actually get use out of the giant concrete box we bought. me and chaz resumed work on html after wanting to use the studio for so long, and we completed it in early september. finally getting the debut out after so much work was so worth it, man. then, we started getting a lot of new hires, both “associates” and “drones.” it has made the day to day a lot easier for us, as we finally had the chance to relax and let them take care of the heavy lifting. seriously, Taz, thank you for putting out so many ads. Bad Wolf would be dead in the water if you didn’t exist.
but by then, i knew it was time for a break for myself, and i wanted to spend it in the way i’ve been wanting to for a very long time, taking a trip to Japan to meet not only friends but some other like-minded individuals so i could personally learn a few pointers. i contacted a few people, they were free in the latter half of september, so i booked a flight and a hotel. day of the flight arrives, me and Taz board, and off we go.
it’s been a while since i’d been on a flight. last time was a couple years ago when i met my dad’s side of the family, and that made me learn so much not only about my family’s present but their past as well. i learned how much of a badass my grandpa was, i experienced midwestern life for the first time since becoming an adult, and met a large family which i’m not used to. aunts, uncles, cousins, family friends, everywhere i looked. back at home, its really only me, my parents, and my grandparents, so experiencing such a large family for the first time with a more mature mindset made me realize how much family really means to other people. this was an experience i was looking for, but in a complete opposite direction for the Japan trip.
what i craved was culture. being an American who’s never even left the US, i’d always wondered how culture is on the other side, not from a very eurocentric point of view, and i learned in SPADES. in Japan, the way of life is very different everywhere you look, from the people you meet, the food you eat, the ground beneath your feet, everything. there’s so many little details that just fascinated me, especially in both the most urban and rural areas. coming from the suburbs, i’m personally not used to how fast life can be in a densely populated area except on rare occasions, but living in a new place for a few days really made me realize just how tiring life can be.
for the rural areas, it’s a lot of what i expected, but at the same time not. Japanese people are not nearly as open as American people, so even in the more sparse towns it’s not nearly as homely as, say, rural Ohio or Minnesota. it was a giant dose of culture shock that shook me to my core, and i loved every second of it. (plus, the food was amazing no matter where i went :3 )
to the learning experiences, chaz got with a couple japanese music artists to learn a bit more about how a non english-centric populous reacts to very anglocentric mindsets, and how we could use these ideas and implement them in our very anglocentric music. it was absolutely fascinating to learn.
as for my goals, i met with a hypno practitioner named Kas who i’ve been following the work of for a long time. he was actually one of the people who inspired me to get into hypnosis, funnily enough, so meeting him in person was a dream. from the very beginning, he was very nice, recognizing my drive to improve my skills instantly (plus the fanboyism came out a bit). his mansion was HUGE and filled to the brim with his subjects he’d found through a variety of techniques. from self inflicted servitude via a pendant, a couple heroes indentured via a virtual reality game, and even a whole harem of hung and ripped bodybuilders enslaved by a soul-stealing phone app! his creativity is amazing…
when i arrived, he showed me around showing off all his slaves and explaining how he made it all happen. the sheer number of servants blew me away, especially when we actually sat down and had a chat. his slaves were dutifully following orders to grab us drinks, tend to the fire place, and even cleaning the decor right in front of our eyes, all with a lustful stare and a massive grin.
finally, we got to talking business. he started with the basics, like simple pocket watch hypnosis and where he procures his cigars. he’d tell stories of some of his favorite catches, from the simple to the devilishly complex. then later on he started to mention just how long he’s been at this work. he told a story about how one of his most famous and well known acts was with this bank robber and butler. he silently made them fall in love with each other in a sort of stockholm syndrome way, keeping them forever linked when the kidnapping escalated to the point of both of them being put in jail together. it was very heartwarming, heartwarming love sprout out of such a despairing scenario. then, i come to learn this took place DECADES ago in London of all places. it really made me realize just how rewarding such a thing can be if he stuck with it for so long. i really should’ve asked how he still looks so young after so long… maybe demons have longer lifespans than other species? i should ask Taz that actually.
anyways, after that incredibly informative conversation i had to call it a night and head back to my hotel. after eyeing all of his slaves one last time, i left, ready to put all the information i learned to practiced. i’ve ordered a couple books on the topic as well that he’d recommended, to fill in some gaps that i’d missed in the single talk i had.
next time i come to Japan, i’m definitely coming back to show off how much i improve. hell, maybe one day i’d have such a variety of slaves that he has. and one day, i hope to become such a well known name in hypnotism in the west as he is in the east.
time to get back to work.
END OF ENTRY